Australian researchers from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) showed that recruitment fraud surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as the rise of online work made it more difficult to discern job postings.
According to a study published in the Social Alternatives journal and released on Monday, lock-downs and restrictions created the perfect environment for offenders to target job-seekers online.
“Offenders seek to harvest personal information by posting a fake ad which requires jobseekers to upload personal information that offenders compile into databases and on-sell to legitimate and illegitimate groups,” said Deanna Grant-Smith from QUT.
The report revealed a surge in the number of reports of recruitment scams from March 2020. The number of reports remained consistently high over the course of the pandemic, it said. Furthermore, victims of fraudulent jobs were overwhelmingly in the 18 to 24 and 25 to 34 age brackets.
Recruitment scams can be separated into three main types including identify theft, phishing for banking details, and fraudulent postings that require upfront payment to cover costs associated with a fake job, the researchers explained.
“In all cases victims lose personal details or money without any benefit,” said Grant-Smith.
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